Adelstein Urges Industry-Govt. Cooperation on SDR Security Standards Development

Adelstein said the industry should submit input on how the FCC can best address security concerns: “As we move to IP-enabled services, the [security] challenges are even greater… We want SDR to move forward and we need to resolve these issues up-front… SDR won’t succeed if we don’t deal with security.”

Adelstein also recognized “the critical nature” of international standard harmonization, saying the FCC should work closely with other govts. through ITU and regional groups to develop international sharing and interference criteria. “It is important that we work to develop standards that will allow multinational multifunctional devices,” he said. The FCC has allowed equipment to be modified by a 3rd party, but only if it’s certified as SDR and complies with security requirements. “Such an approach could help stimulate an industry comparable to that of the personal computer industry, in which hardware and software can be purchased from companies other than that the original computer manufacturer,” Adelstein said: “But for this to happen, either a common set of standards or some way to determine compatibility between the hardware and software must exist.”

SDR and CR technologies “have the potential to significantly shape [FCC’s] approach to spectrum use in the future,” Adelstein said. In dealing with spectrum, he said, “the Commission does have a responsibility to establish ground rules for issues such as interference and availability.” The Commission addresses interference issues on a case-by-case basis. “Cognitive radio has the potential to optimize spectrum use by allowing devices to co-exist while minimizing interference,” he said: “Of course, we always must be mindful of harmful interference, particularly when our most congested bands are involved, such as those used for cellular and PCS services.”

Adelstein repeatedly stressed the FCC should “let innovation and the marketplace drive the development of spectrum-based services… While the Commission’s duty to prevent harmful interference is paramount, it is also important that the Commission’s action be guided by something I have coined ’spectrum facilitation.’ This means stripping away barriers -- regulatory, economic or technical -- to furnish spectrum to operators serving consumers at the most local levels.”

The need for a hands-off regulatory approach to SDR was discussed throughout the summit. “An early cooperation between industry and regulators may assist in the minimalization of the requirement for regulation,” said German RegTP’s Horst Mennenga, who also chairs the EU SDR working group.

Speakers also agreed on the need for setting harmonized international standards for SDR and CR. “A harmonized standard would ensure a common regulated market for SDR in Europe and could form the basis for global requirements for placing products on the markets,” Mennenga said. For example, he said, the U.S. and Europe have “significantly different conformity assessment procedure plans” in place. In Europe, a manufacturer isn’t responsible for unauthorized software; in the U.S., a manufacturer must prevent unauthorized software; and in Japan, the issue is under discussion, with certifying authority controlling software downloads, he said. The issues is being discussed in many countries and “there is a risk that countries arrive to a wide variety of conclusions without effective communication at the international level,” Mennenga said.

NTIA’s Fred Wentland said he expected SDR would help address numerous challenges, including: (1) Protecting spectrum used for critical federal govt. communication. (2) Providing timely access to spectrum for new radiocommunication technologies. (3) Increasing spectrum sharing. “It’s very important for the government, especially for the Department of Defense, to be able to operate anywhere in the world and SDR can lead us to that environment,” he said.

SDR, like wireless phones and Wi-Fi, faces significant security challenges, security expert Les Owens of Booz Allen Hamilton told the forum. The industry shouldn’t underestimate the resourcefulness of criminals probing SDR systems for flaws to exploit. “Don’t be surprised at what the adversaries can do,” Owens said. “With the Internet the way it is today, once a hole is identified it can spread very quickly. One thing about security is you really have to design for perfection. You can’t really meet that but if there’s any kind of flaw it will ultimately be discovered.”

ITU Working Subgroups Agree on SDR Definition

The ITU reached a milestone last week, when its 2 working sub-groups agreed on the definition of a SDR. “It was a significant accomplishment because you are trying to get an agreement from many different administrations and industry members,” ITU-R’s Cindy Cook told us after the summit.

The 2 subgroups -- Working Party (WP) 8A and WP 8F -- address different SDR-related issues, but they needed a common definition to proceed, Cook said. WP 8A, which includes contributors from the U.S., Canada, Germany, the U.K. and Japan, is developing a working document towards a Report on SDR in the Land Mobile Service. The document, which is expected to be completed during the next WP 8A meeting Sept. 22-28, will address the generic aspects of SDR and SDR application to land mobile radio services other than IMT-2000, including PPDR, RLANs and ITS. WP 8F last week completed a working document towards a Report on the Impact of SDR on IMT, which deals with SDR issues specific to IMT-2000 systems and beyond. Both documents will go to the Study Group 8 meeting Nov. 21-22.

The WPs 8A and 8F defined SDR as “a radio in which RF operating parameters including but not limited to frequency range, modulation type, or output power can be set or altered by software, and/or the technique by which this is achieved,” Cook said. The definition also has 3 “notes,” she said: (1) “Excludes changes to operating parameters which occur during the normal pre-installed and predetermined operation of a radio according to a system specification or standard.” (2) “SDR is an implementation technique applicable to many radio technologies and standards.” (3) “Within the mobile service, SDR techniques are applicable to both transmitters and receivers.”